Women's Volleyball

Wolf named 2018 NEAC Defensive Player of the Year

Oct 31, 2018

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2018 individual award winners and All-Conference selections in the sport of women's volleyball Wednesday, naming Morrisville State junior libero, Sam Wolf (Liverpool, N.Y.) the Defensive Player of the Year, as voted by conference coaches.

"Sam brings a level of excellence to the Libero position that very few programs get to experience," said head coach Fred Wallace.

"Most teams when planning out a way to win a match focus on outsides or a weakness to exploit. When teams scout us they also have to account for Sam and her absolute fearlessness at the position."

"Much like teammate Megyan Merrill, Sam is dedicated and driven to excellence. She is the rock of our team, and we have been accomplishing so much because we know she'll make the play as needed and necessary."

Wolf was a defensive leader for Morrisville State as they posted a 23-6 overall record on the season and the program's first undefeated NEAC season and regular season title at 11-0 behind her stellar defensive game.

The junior started all 29 contests for the Mustangs at libero, and in 98 sets played collected a league leading 561 digs, averaging 5.72 digs per set (a third of the Mustangs total average), as Morrisville State averaged a total 15.59 on the season per set, ranking second overall in in digs, and third in digs per set.

Wolf started off the year with a single game high 48 digs in a 3-1 win over Penn St. Behrend, before adding a match high 23 against Penn St. Berks.

The libero, whose specialty is in the defensive game, also contributed to the Mustangs offensive attack, collecting 26 total kills and adding 105 assists, an average of 1.07 per set.

On the season she served up 44 aces, second only behind fellow teammate Megyan Merrill. Wolf, a second team All-Conference selection a year ago, earned 2017 AVCA Division III Northeast Region Honorable Mention honors and was a two-time NEAC Defensive Player of the Week selection this season.

She currently ranks 31st overall in all of Division III in digs per set, and 63rd overall in total digs.

Wolf is a three-time All-Conference selection, and was named the Rookie of the Year for the NEAC her freshman season.

She is a graduate of Liverpool High is majoring in business administration at SUNY Morrisville and is the daughter of Julie and Tom Wolf of Liverpool.

Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.